Global stocks decline after jobs report
European stock indexes mostly down, following a worse-than-expected U.S. jobs report, while Asian shares finish mixed.
LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- European shares lost momentum following a dismal U.S. jobs report, but Asian markets closed higher Friday as investors responded to the latest round of rate cuts from central banks around the world.
In the U.S., the Labor Department said the country lost nearly 1.2 million jobs though October and the unemployment rate hit a 14-year high of 6.5%.
European stocks lost their gains following the jobs report. Britain's FTSE-100 was still up by nearly 1%, but the CAC-40 in France and Germany's DAX declined by less than 1%.
Recession fears and worries about corporate profits pummeled markets worldwide on Thursday. On Friday before the open of the U.S. stock market, investors were greeted with Ford Motor's (F, Fortune 500) $3 billion operating loss for the third quarter.
South Korea's main stock index rebounded from a 4.9% fall to close 3.9% higher after the country's central bank cut its key interest rate for the third time in a month.
"The growth of the Korean economy is expected to slow sharply as the pace of export growth is markedly falling and domestic demand remains sluggish," Lee Seong-tae, the governor of the Bank of Korea, said, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The move, designed to boost the economy by lowering the cost of borrowing money, came on the heels of rate cuts made by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei Index dropped more than 6% in early trading Friday, but cut its losses to finish down 3.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 3.3%.
U.S. markets have slumped about 9% since Tuesday's elections as investors have refocused their attention on the slumping economy and prospect of a deep recession.
The Dow fell 4.9% on Thursday, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 5% and the Nasdaq composite declined by 4.3%.
"Everything is so dismal right now, It's just an endless flow of bad news and no one wants to buy," said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams.
CNN Wires contributed to this report. 
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